Auslan Diploma to be cut

[Menang]

http://www.saveauslancourses.org/

The Victorian government is cutting the TAFE budget by $300million. The overflow of this is that the Kangan Institute can not longer run their Diploma of Auslan, which is a massive blow to the ability of the Deaf to access information and services, and to communicate.

Not usually big on active social justice advocation, but I thought this was a really important and quite immediate issue.

[Camo]

Its such a joke. I know that in the Mallee region we only have the one tafe and they provided a lot of help for trades in the area. I am disgusted that the Government would make cuts such as this. Its caused a lot of tafes to rethink and limit their courses, and therefore I believe its just making things worse for years to come.

[paulsterio]

[Camo]

With the economy in the state it is Paul I find that somewhat hard to believe. Tafe courses feel much more flexible, especially in small communities like mine. I know for one that I can afford a tafe course much more then uni.

[paulsterio]

Yes, but you have to consider that uni courses can be put on HECS - which you don't have to start paying off until you start earning a certain amount of money - like I'm not spending a single dollar right now on uni fees, it's all HECS

[Menang]

Let's not turn this into a HECs/TAFE vs uni debate.

I think the main problem here is that a major (probably the primary) way to be qualified in Auslan is being cut off.

People go to TAFE or uni for different reasons. I don't know of any uni courses offering a diploma in Auslan.

It's a service that Australia needs, and cutting off the training is just not a good thing at any level.

[Russ]

A bit off topic, but it might force some people into uni!

I am honestly curious as to what your thinking and reasoning is here

[EvangelionZeta]

A bit off topic, but it might force some people into uni!

I am honestly curious as to what your thinking and reasoning is here

Better yet, I'm honestly curious if the undertone of "Uni>TAFE" in that statement is just my imagination.

[Truck]

A bit off topic, but it might force some people into uni!

Just putting this out there, TAFE and Uni prepare students for different jobs in our society.

People do not only go to TAFE because they couldn't go to Uni. Some actually do want to be plumbers, electricians, etc. Finally, cutting funding for the teaching of what is essentially a language does not encourage people to go to University, especially when it is not taught there.

[paulsterio]

I'm just saying that it's not all negative, I don't mean that Uni > TAFE, but I'm just saying, it might force some people into uni, which might not be a bad thing, as it reflects what's trending these days, that more and more people are heading to uni, like looking at statistics, much more people go to uni now than say 20 years ago.


And yeah, I wasn't directing it at the AUSLAN thing, I was just saying, in general, it's not all negative

[EvangelionZeta]

I'm just saying that it's not all negative, I don't mean that Uni > TAFE, but I'm just saying, it might force some people into uni, which might not be a bad thing, as it reflects what's trending these days, that more and more people are heading to uni, like looking at statistics, much more people go to uni now than say 20 years ago.

But just because something IS the case doesn't mean it ought to be the case... 

[pi]

I'm just saying that it's not all negative, I don't mean that Uni > TAFE, but I'm just saying, it might force some people into uni, which might not be a bad thing, as it reflects what's trending these days, that more and more people are heading to uni, like looking at statistics, much more people go to uni now than say 20 years ago.

lol, that's totally what you meant...

[paulsterio]

But just because something IS the case doesn't mean it ought to be the case... 

I think what the government doing is somewhat reflective of the fact that the number of people going to uni is showing an upward trend whereas the number of people going to TAFE is showing a downward trend.

I reckon everyone's just taken my post out of context and decided to flame me for it =.=

[Mao]

Paul, your post is wrong on so many levels. It's no surprise that everyone chose to attack it. But anyhow, that's not the topic here. Let's stop discussing Paul's Uni vs. TAFE debate.


I have my suspicions on this matter. I see two levels of the issue here.

1. The Vic Govt chose to cut TAFE funding. One of the better representation of this decision I found is here: http://afr.com/p/national/victorian_government_cuts_tafe_funding_aWPagR0MKiyrpPHxBByGtO
It seems to claim that TAFE training exploded under the Brumby government. This is good and bad. Good in the sense that subsidised training might fix some skill shortage. Bad in the sense that if someone wants to change a career or take up a new skill, the taxpayers bear the cost for no good reason. The problem here is, subsidised training doesn't fix the skill shortage. I will take nursing as an example here. Nursing is a course popular for unqualified females, I have a few friends in the course. There is a shortage of skilled nurses, yet surprisingly, many TAFE nursing graduates can't find jobs. The only logical conclusion is that graduating with a nursing diploma doesn't mean you are now skilled for the job. Skill and training shortages are completely different things, so in order to fix the skill shortage, subsidising courses isn't going to do it. I don't disagree with the government's decision to take away TAFE funding, so long as the money is used elsewhere to more effectively target the skill shortages. This hasn't been done, but that's not to say cuts in TAFE funding is all bad. (Disclaimer: I have changed my mind on the Higher Ed Math/Sci/Stat funding issue, which is very similar to this current issue.)

2. Kangan Institute has stopped offering the Auslan diploma. This was announced a week or two ago. Much later than the announcement of TAFE funding cuts.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/education/tafe-cuts-put-an-end-to-auslan-diploma-20120522-1z3ae.html
http://www.saveauslancourses.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/3RRR-radio-interview-transcript-29_05_2012-P.pdf
I highlight these two articles, because they show one thing: Kangan chose to terminate the Auslan course, not the Govt. Kangan seem to have more interest in continuing hat making than to bite their lip and continue to offer Auslan at some extra cost. I don't think I should express my opinion of Kangan right now.

Many other TAFEs are feeling the same thing, e.g. SwinburneTAFE is expecting net loss in operations due to the funding cuts. Why are all the TAFEs in difficult positions? I don't think it's because of funding cuts, I think it's because of misuse of funding. The Brumby subsidies caused an explosion of new institutes, new courses and new competitions. These drive the cost to students down, but the expenditure of training up, as new courses need to be designed and new facilities need to be developed. Developing new courses and acquiring new facilities aren't cheap (nor instantaneous) operations, the costs will flow over many years. The institutes simply over-forecasted the future and spent money they didn't have. Should the taxpayers continue to bear the burden of misuse of funding in TAFE education? I don't think so, especially if it isn't going to fix the skill shortages.

So who do we blame? The absolute source started at the Brumby Govt, but he was trying to fix a skill shortage. The next in line is the Baillieu Govt, but he is trying to stop wasting tax-payers money. The Baillieu Govt also said:

...a spokesman for Tertiary Education Minister Peter Hall said the government would offer subsidies to the Deaf Society of NSW so that it could offer Auslan training in Victoria.

So why don't we focus on finding an alternative solution, such as negotiating with DS/NSW, rather than pointing a finger and getting maximum media attention. http://www.saveauslancourses.org/ may have good intentions, but its execution is possibly the least likely to actually achieve something useful.